The Swollen Fox

Sniff, sniff went the thin black nose of a very hungry fox. It led him across the hill to an old oak tree with a hollow in its trunk. Inside, some shepherds had left their lunch, a loaf of bread and a fine piece of meat.

The hole was small, but the fox was thin. In went his nose. In went his ears. In went his bony ribs. He ate the bread. He ate the meat. He licked up every last crumb, and his belly grew as tight and round as a drum.

Then he turned to leave. Out went his nose. Out went his ears. And there he stuck. He pushed and puffed, and he wriggled and wailed, but his belly would not go through. "Oh, poor me!" he groaned. "Oh, what will become of me?"

Another fox came trotting by and stopped at the oak. "Who is making all that noise in there?" he called.

The fox in the tree told him everything, from the first sniff to the last crumb.

The other fox sat down and scratched his ear. "Ah, my friend," he said. "You will just have to stay there until you are as thin as you were when you went in. Then you will slip out easily."